The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning regarding the misuse of its name and insignia in online disinformation campaigns tied to the presidential election. The agency highlighted that such content is inaccurate and urged the public to seek reliable sources for election-related information.
"Election integrity is among our highest priorities, and the FBI is working closely with state and local law enforcement partners to respond to election threats and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote," the bureau said Tuesday, as reported by CBS News. "Attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI threat assessments and activities aim to undermine our democratic process and erode trust in the electoral system."
One of the videos in question claimed the FBI had issued a directive for voters to "vote remotely" due to a terror threat, while another alleged that prison officials in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona were coordinating with a political party to manipulate inmate voting. The FBI confirmed both videos are fabricated and clarified that it has not issued any warnings advising remote voting for safety reasons.
The videos were likely created by the same Russian disinformation group that released two additional fabricated FBI videos in recent days, according to Antibot4Navalny, a collective of researchers that tracks online Russian disinformation.
In response to ongoing threats, the FBI is coordinating with state and local agencies through a national election command post at its Washington, D.C., headquarters. James Barnacle, deputy assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, elaborated on the role of the post to the Washington Examiner:
"The purpose of the command post is to ensure the FBI is well positioned to respond to threats that would come in or information that would come in that would affect our election security. Those threats include criminal threats such as threats to election workers, foreign malign influence, cyber threats, and acts of domestic violence."
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